Restaurant: Indian, The Tavern [1, 2]
Location: 633 S San Gabriel Blvd #105, San Gabriel, CA 91776. (626) 287-0688
Date: February 10, 2024
Cuisine: Chinese
Rating: Longest Chinese meal ever!
It’s hard to describe this particular SGV restaurant. But Andrea organized this special Chinese New Year’s banquet.
From the outside it looks like most of them.
But then inside it has this weird western saloon theme. Presumably it was some kind of “Indian bar” back in the 50s. The decor has partially stuck, but the menu is almost all Chinese.
We had this rustic table in the “party room.”
Not so PC!
We had the whole room.
Fried Stinky Tofu. Smelled bad, tasted like baby poop!
Crunchy spicy cabbage — good for removing the poop taste.
發財好市 Prosperous Market. Oysters with Black Moss, pork, and cabbage.
Incredibly interesting textures and great flavor — although not a looker in this format.
黃金仙子 Golden Fairies. Whole U-10 Scallops with Egg White Sauce and Fish Roe.
Very tasty.
海皇豆腐羹 Health and Longevity. Assorted Seafood and Bean Curd Soup. This was so good I had 3 bowls. Awesome!
年年有餘 More Than Enough Year After Year. Steamed Whole Live Fish.
Very tasty but a lot of bones.
Signature Prawns and Corn Kernels with Preserved Duck Egg Yolks. The crunchy corn was awesome.
Paul rapped — quite excellently.
包羅萬有 Ocean Treasures Discovered. Braised Gourmet Seafood (Abalone, Sea Cucumber, Fish Maw, Sundried Scallops…)
Icky looking again, but great flavors and textures.
飛龍在天 Dragon Above the Cloud. Lobster and Yee-Fu Noodles with Ginger and Scallions.
Delicious and tender.
金雞報喜 Chicken Bringing Good News. Authentic Fried Chicken. Very juicy and delicious.
Traditional Tea Smoked Duck. Smoky.
寶盆生花 Pearls in Treasure Pot. Mini Stuffed Gluten Balls in Light Peanut Paste (Desert).
Probably the best Chinese dessert soup I’ve had — actually quite delicious — like liquid peanut butter.
Lovechild, Pecan Praline, and Cremino Siciliano.
Crepe cakes!
The wines.
Overall, the place was surprisingly excellent. And they did these really interesting dishes. However, the timing was glacial to say the least. This meal was OVER 7 HOURS LONG! And Chinese food is usually super fast. There were two different 60-90 minute gaps between dishes. Twice I just went over to an empty booth, lay down and took an hour long nap!
